What is good is that I realize it is bad. Marketing is about consistency, about developing virtual relationships with prospects, about delivering value. It takes commitment, time, care and effort. It is not easy.

It is this consistency that clients often fail to acknowledge. In an age of instant communication, clients crave quick lead generation programs. In that pursuit, even in B2B markets, they dream up larger and larger incentives and gimmicks to get people to give up their names and enter a "nurturing" program. However, especially in B2B, the best leads are those that are created in response to simple, legitimate presentation of the actual value proposition. These programs tend to not be flashy...rather they are consistent. And they take time to bear fruit.

In my lack of consistency, I have reinforced for myself the challenge of marketing -- there is always something to do in the business day, but to grow and be successful, I need to let prospects (and customers) know we are here, and how we can help them. Slow and steady wins the race, and right now, I am behind. It is lesson you can learn from too.

The 200x decade is about to become history. And with it will go a tumultuous time. For me personally, it was a time of rebuilding from a series of personal losses coupled with a period of great innovation and exploration. During the years that ensued, I moved the company from services, into software and now back to a blended software/services model. I experienced great highs and tremendous challenges.

Of greatest importance, I learned.

When I used to do interviews of prospective students for Dartmouth, my alma mater, they would sometimes asked what was the most important thing I learned in college. Never wavering, I would always answer..."I learned how to learn". That skill has been essential to making it through the past decade. And the upcoming one seems no different.

In 2009, we experienced profound cultural change as society broadly accepted the new ways of doing things that the internet has made possible. As we (i.e. John Q. Public) become more comfortable with these new tools, I can guarantee that many industries will be redefined. If you are an executive, Web 2.0, social media and beyond all represent the opportunity to build a new future. Miss the opportunity and the alternative may be the path of dinosaurs.

For 2010, I am committing to writing more on this blog, to focusing my energies better and to building stronger relationships with partners, associates, customers...in short, all the smart people around me who can help elevate my thinking and drive new ideas into realities.

Thank you for reading in 2009 and I look forward to connecting again in the new decade!

Next up, the invitation from CapitalOne Small Business for Trinity Ny Deli (what the heck is that?) sent to my wife's attention. Completely ludicrous addressing AND mistargeted.

Given rising postal costs, I am continually surprised how much mistargeted or misaddressed mail I receive, especially from banks. I understand all the excuses and rationalizations used for these mailing. I am certain that buried in the piles of response rate stats that (hopefully) companies like CapitalOne use to justify their bombarding of my mailbox, is something to explain how a business owner who happens to receive a misaddressed item could end up as a customer. But, increasingly, "spray and pray" mailing "looks" like bad business to consumers who are getting used to the controls they have in new age social networks. Weary of advertising, junk mail in the box looks both economically profligate and environmentally reprehensible.

With the power of modern analytics, mail programs can be smarter. Why is is that our banks can't seem to get it?

At Demand Media, they use technology to scan the web to determine what people are searching and what ads on those search results might pay. They then commission content (through an army of freelancers) at rates to match the forecast revenue. It is infinitely granular, highly targeted, and apparently....profitable as hell.

Most people who I have referred the article to immediately recoil. "Who would read that junk?" "Their content is terrible!" "That will lead to two tons of trash on the Web".

Exactly.

And in that trash is the opportunity. As citizen journalism, user-generated content, and automated production engines like Demand Media churn out content by the pound, the need for trusted filters (channels, editors, call them what you want!) grows. Sifting through the junk to find the real gems is getting harder, not easier. So, as is the norm in business, the pendulum swinging away from publishers will likely begin to swing back in their favor.

The difference is that where publishers once had an advantage because they controlled distribution which was costly, now everyone has access to affordable distribution. Thus, bloggers like Chris Brogan or David Pogue (who also happens to work for the New York TImes) who have legions of followers, are in fact well-suited to fill the role of "trusted editors".

In similar fashion, ethical corporations can also fill that gap. Companies like Northwest Mutual or Blue Cross Blue Shield, who have worked hard to cultivate trusted relationships with customers, are in a terrific position to capitalize on the need for information filters, and in so doing to strengthen/expand their business reach.

So. from the wreckage of the publishing industry will emerge a new landscape for "publishing", and where once only a few powerful individuals like Rupert Murdoch held sway, the future will be likely be more democratic...and much more personal.

*Image: Copyright Wired Magazine, November 2009

Nonetheless, I am happily engaging with real customers in real settings. I can hear the talk around me. I see all the people tapping on their computers, yet we are interspersed with people who are here for social reasons...to have a drink with friends/colleagues or to watch the World Series game in a public venue. I can talk with people in between my work, about business or personal topics.

This environment is strangely energizing. Coming from my workaholic, baby boomer ethic upbringing I feel oddly "bad" about working in the "bar". But, watching the flow of people, the small gatherings, the ebb-and-flow of activity, is actually educational.

As a B2B marketer whose roots are in the theory and practice of "proper" marketing, the realities of a socially-driven marketing world are being driven home every day. Working in the bowels (or towers) of major corporations, it is easy to forget that our constituents are social beings who not only carry our brand message, but who help define it. The people around me are talking about financial topics (one table), about using social media like Facebook in marketing (no joke...one table), about sales, and yes even about the game. These are smart, connected, intellectual people who are likely the target for many of our pitches. They are also social beings who interact and operate as humans, not as "targets" or "prospects."

I am not suggesting you spend a lot of evenings tapping at a computer in the lobby bars of major hotels in large cities. But, if you are an enterprise marketer, I encourage you to try this exercise out once in a while - even in smaller venues in your own neighborhood. Listen to what you hear, and watch the flow. Become your own personal ethnographer. It may give you a new perspective on how to manage your day job.

However, I believe the title is more relevant to B2B readers than many might expect. I was reading the #Print09 thread (Print09 is a major tradeshow in the printing industry) on Twitter earlier today, and was fascinated by how companies were using the application. Rapidly becoming a widely-accepted, if not yet mainstream, tool in the consumer marketplace, more and more B2B companies are beginning to understand the implications and potential of real-time media like Twitter.

In the print industry, you might think that companies would not be thrilled with online applications that are eroding their market. However, market leaders like HP, Kodak or Xerox realize that their businesses are increasingly about engagement with the markets they serve -- it allows them to effectively craft both messages and complete solutions that address the real-world business needs of their customers. For them, Twitter is one more way to immerse into those markets.

Equally noticable in the thread, however, was the litany of companies who were not participating in the conversations. One can only assume that the reason they were not active was they did not understand Twitter...or its value. So for them, here are some thoughts.

• In technical terms, Twitter is a social network and micro-blogging service that allows users to share/read short (140 character max) messages posted in real time.
• Twitter now ranks as the third most popular social networking site and is one of the top 50 global websites.
• Twitter is the face of real-time, online communications that is changing industries as varied as advertising, journlism, public relations, retailing and philanthropy.
• Twitter is an empowerment tool for sellers. It lets them interject messaging into markets and helps them spread those messages through customer-driven communications.
• Twitter is an empowerment tool for buyers. It lets them keep sellers honest by permitting rapid dissemination of the truth about a product or service...good or bad.
• Twitter is a stepping stone. The tool will evolve, but the concept is here to stay.

I believe Twitter forces marketers in every industry to rethink the nature of their communications. Which is why the Print09 thread was so interesting. You could watch old-line companies rooted in paper-based technologies leveraging a tool that could be helping hasten their demise. But more likely, you could witness those companies leveraging a tool that is building their competitive position as they evolve into the future.

- Charles Darwin

As a blogger, it is easy to believe that all businesses clearly see, understand and are acting to respond to the forces that are changing how marketing is done. After all, we operate in this brave new social-media-enabled world, and recognize the value of real-time, consumer-generated content, understand conversational marketing, blah, blah, blah. 

In reality, outside the echo chamber of the marketing gurus, most business is still conducted under a host of constraints, roadblocks and assumptions. Every day, we still hear "the focus is on cost per piece", or "I've heard of Twitter", or "social media tools aren't used by our customers." Every business has its own reasons or rationale, but the result is the same -- marketing stagnation.

Today, I participated in a brainstorming session at a cash-strapped, industrial publishing company. We talked about:

• innovative ways of applying variable data printing to reduce unit costs on targeted promotional mail
• how to manage micro-targeting across multi-media implementations
• tips for e-mail list optimization
• techniques for optimizing personalized landing pages
• examples of content re-purposing applied to personal media subscriptions

In principle, this client doesn't have the budgets for breakthrough marketing, but in fact, that was part of the session's purpose -- how can we apply technology creatively to not only drive results, but reduce cost. The participants joked about hand-stuffing invitations for local seminars...then delved back into how they might apply smarter techniques to improve performance. The attitude was "can do", not "we can't".

That is the spirit that defines a change agent. As the recession wanes, we are learning that the new economy is likely to reengineer spending patters at all levels, from individual consumers to global corporations and government entities. Some industries, like printing, will be recast, and new industries, like location-based services, will emerge. Change agents will help companies invent...or reinvent.

Darwin was right. So, are you helping your business survive?

It seems bad service has become the cultural norm. Gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement centers, transportation centers...it is like we've perfected the art of surly service, bad service, or no service at all. I wasn't always that way. And as more smart companies catch on, the purveyors of service pain risk replacement by competitors who again realize that customer-centricity is more than a buzzword, it is a path to busines success. For companies like:

Zappo's (purchased by Amazon)

H-E-B / Central Market

Cabela's

service is a culture. Have you ever met a Cabela's customer? If they find out you are an outdoorsman, they'll practically throw you in their car and drive you to the nearest store. For them, a trip to the store is a pilgrimage, not a chore.

Compare that to my recent visits to regional supermarkets BigY, ShopRite, Stop&Shop and even local "superstar" Stew Leonard's, I felt a wide range of emotions: frustration (over item unavailability), anger (over product quality), amazement (over advertising practices), annoyance (over lack of service availability)...but only rare bursts of satisfaction. Trust me, I am not out singing the praises of these stores. Instead, I spend my time trying to outwit their pricing policies and wishing a Whole Foods would move in.

Day after day, corporate marketers spend hours in conference rooms plotting the next product campaign, the next promo, the next social media outreach. When great marketing is paid off with lousy service, all it does is punctuate customer annoyance. "AT&T. Your World. Delivered." I don't think so! How about "AT&T. Two Tylenol Delivered. (You'll Need Them After Dealing With Us.)"

I actually admire AT&T, a company that has emerged phoenix-like from the ashes of its all-to-recent fall. But like any other customer, I have a voice. And thanks to blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Consumerist, and on and on, when a company crosses me, I have a way to use it. And that is the formula that is turning traditional marketing on its head. Today, product performance and customer service matter more than ever...and failing the customer can undermine a million dollar campaign in under a minute.  

In fact, that may be the point.

In an article on CNN titled "Twitter blockout left users feeling 'jittery', 'naked'."  Marc Cooper, a professor of journalism at USC noted that the hysteria that resulted from the blackout may be the ultimate sign that "instant, online communication is here to stay."

"Fighting the trend would be like trying to stop the ocean's tides, he said, but it's unclear where the technology will take our society.

'The bottom line is that we don't know. All of this is too new,' he said. 'It's like sitting around in the year 1500 and trying to figure out where the printing press was going to take us.' "

What a great analogy. So, how did 40 million people increasingly addicted to a technology that is barely stable, let alone being solid enough to hinge our lives on?

In business, one reason is that thought leaders like Chris Brogan or David Armano, who once ruled the blog world of marketing and now rule the Twitter world, tell us its important. But these arbiters of "the next big thing" are people whose day job IS using tools like Twitter, and who wants to be told what to do? But, it is also because companies like Starbucks and Comcast have validated their advice and provided overwhelming evidence of its value in areas like customer service and consumer engagement.

In consumer life, the "arbiters" are the socially-active, who found yet another way to broadcast their lives. But beyond the mindless posting of questionably interesting personal data, it is also real people like the "Twitter Moms" who found out how easy it could be to rally support for a consumer cause (justly or unjustly)...in just seconds.

It is in part, because Twitter has "democratized" real-time information and made "newscasters" of everyone. Whether it was the plane crash on the Hudson or the protests in Iran, we've learned that no one is better at presenting the news...than us. Real-time news undoubtedly impacted the course of events in Iran, and will no doubt change how governments respond to similar protests in the future. 

And of course, there is the pragmatic lure of access to millions of minds. Sure, most of us have no time to either type about or read about lunch habits of the rich and marginally famous. But when we are stuck on a vexing problem, or perhaps just looking for advice on a place to eat in a strange city, who wouldn't want to tap the collective wisdom of the herd? When I needed to get a programming question answered recently, one place I posted to was Twitter.

And so, beyond the amusement, I also found Thursday instructive. First, because the impact Twitter demonstrated should be a real wakeup call to companies ignoring the "real-time, online communications revolution." Instead of always talking about Twitter, maybe if we refer to the trend that way, companies will be less likely to ignore it. And second, because so many of the panicked were not people wondering what Ashton Kutcher was going to have for lunch. Instead, lots of people with real jobs (journalists, customer service personnel, etc.), were displaced because their lifeline to "real-time, online information" had been cut.

Life doesn't happen in 140-character blocks. But obviously, lots of news, facts and fun CAN be communicated in those tiny tweets.

Excuse my end-of-week grumpiness, but what bull. They are selling spam and amazingly (or not), supposedly smart marketers are falling for it.

To be clear, under the letter of the law, which only requires that a mailing has a valid opt-out and certain characteristics like a physical address, the e-mail pieces may not technically be spam. But I did not ask for it, I did not want it, and it annoys me to have to delete it. So, to me, it was spam.

Some companies have done this to me more than once (Pitney Bowes comes to mind) and have now created such ill-will that I consciously think about their junk mail when there are decisions to make in areas where Pitney could be a vendor. That's what spam does to a brand -- it creates conscious or subconscious feelings, usually negative.

Now in defense of the companies who spit this trash out, I am certain it garners some "opens" and possibly even some true leads. And, consistent with the American entrepreneurial spirit, if it is not illegal, I cannot complain about their business model. BUT, I can caution legitimate brands of the dangers of putting your good name in the hands of a spam factory.

Brands take years to build and burnish, but just seconds to tear down in a customer's eyes. In difficult times like we are currently experiencing, the lure of cheap lead generation is strong. But the dangers of bad practice far outweigh the minimal value you might gain from these type of programs.

Not unexpectedly, the final approach settled on conceded to political and cultural reality. "This is how our sales teams are used to working." "Sales people can be knuckleheads, so we need to keep it simple."  And with that, we elected to follow the path of least resistance, and not necessarily the forward-thinking path.

Unfortunately, many of the attendees comments reflected reality. Implementing new strategic directions can be organizationally challenging. But that does not make the final decision the right one. Part of the reason for the decision was a need for expedient implementation and the simplification of near-term process was deemed appropriate. While the need for speed was real, in the world of hyper-change in which we operate, there is NEVER a good time for implementing process that change organization behaviors. So, in some cases, there is no time like the present. And in this case, the decision delays implementation of a strategic initiative intended to push the client deeper into an online solution...something appropriate for the markets in which they operate:  high-end financial services. 

The decision in this case was minor, and the implications small. But their process for decision-making is common, and risky in dynamic markets. Financial services is a world of contradictions -- wildly technical and sophisticated back-ends fronted by staid and conservative client-facing processes. But those front-ends are becoming increasingly important as clients seeks access to information that exposes the truth behind their investments. That means that "it's the way we do things" is the right answer in fewer and fewer situations.

Take a look in your organization and think if that same behavior is occurring. In the depth of recession, it is bold leaders willing to forge new paths who often emerge as the leaders. Finding the opportunities to Create Change is a way to break from the pack and build differentiating value in tight markets.